Methuen’s Calvin Kattar bloodied, beaten by Max Holloway in UFC main event

UFC

By Jon Couture Globe correspondent,Updated January 16, 2021, 17 minutes ago

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No one can question Calvin Kattar’s toughness after his performance on national television Saturday afternoon, half of the first UFC main event ever on ABC, but former champion Max Holloway made clear the Methuen product is not yet ready to claim a place atop the division.

Holloway (22-6), the UFC’s all-time leader in featherweight victories and finishes, bludgeoned the 32-year-old Kattar in a lopsided unanimous decision at Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island. The three judges scored the five-round bout 50-43, 50-43, and 50-42.

Coming off a controversial split-decision loss in July to Alexander Volkanovski, who’d beaten him for the title in December 2019, Holloway set an untouchable pace from the outset, ultimately breaking the UFC record for most strikes attempted with 744 across the five five-minute rounds. He landed 445, with a record 141 in the fourth round. Kattar landed 133 of his 283 attempts overall.

He could not, however, knock out Kattar (22-5), who’d won four of his previous five fights and entered as the No. 6-ranked contender to Volkanovski. Kattar never looked to have a chance to beat the 29-year-old Holloway, who held the featherweight title for three years as part of a 13-fight winning streak from 2014-19. Kattar was busted open by three big shots late in the second round, and was essentially out on his feet in the latter half of the fourth, but did not go down.

Despite match commentators openly questioning whether the fight should be stopped, and Holloway mugging for much of the final two minutes, both referee Herb Dean and Kattar’s corner let him finish what was his first meeting with a former champion.

“You gotta kill me to get me out of there. I ain’t gonna take a knee for anybody,” a bloodied Kattar said on ABC after the loss. “Max Holloway, animal. If you ain’t a Max Holloway fan, you’re a hater. Kid’s a beast. Did what he had to do. Good luck to him, and hopefully the champ next. He deserves another shot.”